The Campfire Yarn

The Campfire Yarn

2010Available Life-Size, contact artist for details

In Marguerite de Beaumont’s biography of Baden-Powell she states that: “the Chief was the master-teller of campfire yarns, and just before leaving England for the last time, he expressed that one of his greatest desires, was that campfire yarns and the telling of them should never die out in the Guide and Scouting movements. “It takes some courage to tell a yarn,” he would say, “and we British are a reserved people and don’t always like to talk about the things that mean most to us, but a good story fires the imagination and is often a source of inspiration to those who may hear it. And I have heard many a good yarn told, not by grown-ups at all, but by the youngsters themselves.”

It is my hope that this sculpture expresses the energy, excitement, and values that Lord Baden-Powell wished to instill into the minds and character of young men throughout the world. I’ve attempted to capture him full of life, spinning one of his campfire yarns which were noted for their humor, wit and important life lessons. Baden-Powell believed that boys would be far more likely to remember the lessons shared round the campfire on an adventure than they would a lecture given in a classroom.

I hope to someday find a location and funding to create a monumental version of this sculpture.